Merry Christmas to All
by MissNightTigress
Summary: All Toni Stark expected when she went to her favorite bistro was a quiet night of sipping cocktails and eating steak. She didn't expect to catch wind of a mercenary's fight with his girlfriend... Sorry it's short! It was a drabble I did for a friend and I was so proud I wanted to share it : Enjoy!


Toni had seen and heard everything, and she didn't even mean to. She was simply enjoying a quiet evening out, no problems. She hadn't expected to even run into Lee at the swanky Manhattan eatery.

"I told you, Lace. This job is strictly classified," she heard the balding man's velvet English accent say from the bar.

The freckled brunette pouted her lips as she inched closer to the man across the table. "It's always classified. Everything is so secret with you. How is that even a relationship?"

Lee's jaw locked in place as his fingers gripped either one of his muscular arms. "It's a relationship because it's building our trust."

A tan arm stretched across the burgundy cotton tablecloth and brushed against his in some form of consoling gesture. "I do trust you, and you should know you can trust me with everything, including this."

"I'd be breaking laws, Lace."

"But isn't it worth it?"

Toni pursed her crimson lips and whistled from the bar as she rotated on the black leather stool. She had a feeling this wasn't going to end well. When the bartender came past, she waved her hand. "I'll have a Rusty Sunset, if you please, along with a bottle of your finest lager. I have a feeling this is going to be a long evening."

The man simply nodded and went off to mix her concoctions as her hearing tuned back into the conversation fifteen feet away.

"I thought you were different, Lee."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I thought you weren't some selfish asshole and didn't keep secrets from me. What's so bad that you can't tell me?"

"That would be telling, wouldn't it?"

"You're going to be a smart ass right now?"

"You're not being breezy either, love."

"I'm also not the one keeping secrets from the woman I claim to love."

There was a scoff from the man. "So now you're doubting my affection?"

"Can you blame me? We wouldn't be having this discussion if you just called or wrote while you were away…something!"

"When was I going to find the time? I was busy doing my job morning, noon, and night!"

"'Doing your job?' Is that code for something, Lee?"

_Woooooow._

"You know, you're not one to talk. I came back to you to find some other guy in your place, and you're going to accuse _me_ of cheating? A bit paranoid, aren't we?"

There was a long silence just then. Toni glanced over her one barren shoulder to observe as Lacey shook her head with pursed lips. She began fumbling around the table for her things before she rose quickly, causing the black wrought iron chair she was sitting on to land on the dark red carpeting with a thud. "I'm not putting up with this."

"Lacey, where are you going?" Lee asked from behind the shade of his palm

With a temperamental stomp of her black heel, the brunette practically snarled at her date, "Somewhere far, _far_ away from you."

Chocolate eyes trailed after the high maintenance woman as she stormed out of the double doors of the restaurant, a small smile forming. If she had to be honest, she didn't know how much more of her shrillness she would've been able to tolerate, nor her clinginess. Her nosiness was yet to be desired as well.

It was after her little catty party was over that her focus returned to the gorgeous man seated by himself caddy corner to her current position. His fingers intertwined as he rubbed his hands against the top of his head in aggravation before he rose as well. He grabbed his black, white and red motorcycle jacket, stalking away from the table like a man on a mission.

Toni sipped at her drink the bartender had placed in front of her moments before before finally speaking. "If it isn't Mr. Utterly Lost," she said a tad hopefully.

Another brief silence answered before, "Stark?"

Swinging her denim-covered legs around, Toni swirled on the bar stool and faced him. "Hey, Christmas. Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah," he retorted rather shortly. "Isn't life funny."

"Hilarious," she mused. Giving her body a half rotation, she picked up a grass green glass bottle labeled Heineken, dangling it in an enticing sort of motion. "Come into the church and join me for a drink, would you?"

His pectorals raised and lowered as she heard a sigh release from his nostrils, obviously weighing out his options. "I'm rather busy-"

"I think you both need time to cool off, actually. Come on. Just one drink? Don't make me beg."

His head nodded as some semblance of a smirk played across his face, a soft scoff reaching her ears. "Are you even capable of such a function?"

"Depends. You gonna join me or not?"

There was another bout of deliberation before the mercenary approached the black marble bar, taking the seat to the billionaire's left as her red leather mini jacket took up the right. He graciously accepted the bottle of lager, raising it up in a toasting gesture. "Cheers," he murmured before letting the bottle grace his lips.

Toni sipped once more at her red-to-yellow gradient drink. "You sure know how to pick 'em."

An eyebrow raised at her remark just then, his hazel eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"

She chuckled softly before leaning back, turning her face to better view him. "You sure know how to pick them," she repeated, enunciating the stressed syllables. "She's obviously very high maintenance."

"Considering who your long-time business partner used to be, who said you were an excellent judge in character?"

"It doesn't take anyone holding two doctorate degrees to figure it out. I take it you haven't told her what you do for a living?"

He swallowed hard before bringing the bottle back up to his mouth. "I told her a little, just what I thought would pacify her. Obviously, that isn't enough."

"With high maintenance people, they want it all."

"Says the highest of them all," he shot at her. The slight sign of dimples was the only clue as to the undertone of teasing that trailed in his voice.

"Heh," she scoffed before taking a large gulp of her drink. "So, you're cheating on her with your job, huh?"

The corners of his lips twitched in a small snarl. "Apparently so. I don't get women."

"And women don't get men. It's a two-way street."

"With one lane slightly bigger than the other."

A genuine laugh escaped the lips of the billionaire as she shook her head incredulously. That was a reason she enjoyed the company of Christmas. Someone could match her wit for wit without throwing her out of the penthouse window. That last part was an added bonus. "What are you going to do when you go after her?"

He fidgeted in his seat a bit before taking a swig of his beer. "Hell if I know. I don't even know if I'm going to chase after her this time."

A long finger swirled around the edge of the crystal glass Toni's drink was in as she stared down at the liquid deep in thought. "Of course you will," she mumbled after a few moments of quietness between them.

"Oh? What makes you say that? Judging character preemptively again?"

"Because I have a feeling you and I are cut from very similar fabrics and though you try to be a badass, your emotions still manage to clamor their way out of you in some form."

From her peripherals, she watched Lee's head snap towards her, perhaps slightly taken aback from her sudden honesty. "What?"

Her eyes locked on his, her lips set in a straight line. "You heard me. As brooding and threatening as you try to put off, you secretly have a soft spot. Everyone has one. Mine happens to be anyone that can match me wit for wit and looks _damn_ good in a uniform," she cooed, offering the man a small smile to hopefully lighten the mood.

There was a pause as he stared with a thoughtful gaze at his reflection in the red bar mirror. "You're a prick bastard, you know that?" he muttered afterwards.

"That's actually a new one, so no, I didn't. Can I ask why?"

His smirk was much more pronounced now as he slid from the black seat, his feet making contact with the carpeted floor. "It's a free country. I don't see why not."

She waited while he collected his coat and pulled it on, expecting an answer. She pouted a tad when she wasn't given one. "You're not going to legitimately answer, are you?"

"You're the genius, Toni," he teased as he went to lay down a $20 to cover his drink. "You figure it out."

She grabbed the bill and shoved it back in his pocket. "I got this. Use that and buy her roses and attempt to woo yourself into her good graces, Casanova. Consider it a thank you for joining me."

The smile on his face broadened, his head jutting forward in a form of nod. "Always a pleasure, Toni."

The woman chuckled darkly, offering her companion a wink. "If it doesn't work out, you and I could always give that phrase a new meaning."

With an eye roll and a half-step, the man was heading towards the exit, his hand above his head in a gesture of goodbye. "Good night, Stark!"

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"


End file.
